'''Italian''' is the official language of [[Italy]], [[San Marino]], and is an official language of [[Switzerland]], spoken mainly in the cantons of [[Ticino]] and [[Grigioni]]. It is a co-official language in [[Istria]] and the coastal regions of [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]]. Furthermore, it is the ''de facto'' primary language of the [[Rome/Vatican|Vatican City]] and is widely used and understood in [[Monaco]], [[Corsica]] and [[Malta]] and even in [[Albania]] and in [[Romania]]. It is also used outside of Europe in parts of [[Libya]] and [[Somalia]].

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'''Italian''' is the official language of [[Italy]], [[San Marino]], and is an official language of [[Switzerland]], spoken mainly in the cantons of [[Ticino]] and [[Grigioni]]. It is a co-official language in [[Istria]] and the coastal regions of [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]]. Furthermore, it is the ''de facto'' primary language of the [[Rome/Vatican|Vatican City]] and is widely used and understood in [[Monaco]], [[Corsica]] and [[Malta]] and even in [[Albania]] and in [[Romania]]. It is also used outside of Europe in parts of [[Libya]], [[Eritrea]] and [[Somalia]].

In most of the touristy resorts along Italy English and German are widely spoken, but in any part of Italy, it will hold you in good stead to know at least basic phrases of polite Italian and not to assume that whoever you are speaking with will know your language.

In most of the touristy resorts along Italy English and German are widely spoken, but in any part of Italy, it will hold you in good stead to know at least basic phrases of polite Italian and not to assume that whoever you are speaking with will know your language.

In most of the touristy resorts along Italy English and German are widely spoken, but in any part of Italy, it will hold you in good stead to know at least basic phrases of polite Italian and not to assume that whoever you are speaking with will know your language.

In Italian, you use the polite form ("lei") with all the people you don't know; it doesn't matter whether they are older or younger than you, unless they are children. You'll use the confidential form ("tu") with the people you know and with children. The two forms differ in the use of the 2nd and 3rd persons in verbs.

Italian has two genders: masculine (-o, pl. -i), feminine (-a, pl. -e), and some remnants of the neuter (uovo "egg", pl. uova). So a woman would say Mi sono persa while a man would say Mi sono perso to say "I am lost".

If you speak Spanish or even Portuguese, be careful as there are a lot of words that look and sound almost the same in these languages but convey very different meanings: for example, Spanish guardar ("to store, shelve") vs. Italian guardare ("to see, watch"), Spanish salir ("to get out") vs. Italian salire ("to go up") and Spanish caldo ("soup") vs. Italian caldo ("warm")

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is relatively easy in Italian since most words are pronounced exactly how they are written. The main letters to watch out for are c and g, since their pronunciation varies based on the following vowel.

Vowels

a

as in "father"

e

as in "set"

i

as in "machine"

o

as in "close", but undiphthongized

u

like 'oo' in "hoop"

Consonants

Silent I
If ci or gi is followed by another vowel, the i is silent. For example, giallo (yellow) is pronounced "JAHL-loh".

like 'g' in "go" (before 'a', 'o', 'u')like 'j' in "jello" (before 'i' or 'e')silent before an 'l' as in 'Luglio'

h

silent

l

like 'l' in "love"

m

like 'm' in "mother"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

p

like 'p' in "pig"

q

like 'q' in "quest" (almost always with "u",)

r

trill with the tip of the tongue

s

like 'ss' in "gas"

t

like 't' in "top"

v

like 'v' in "victory"

z

as in "pizza" or "adze"

Common diphthongs

ai

like 'i' in "fight"

au

like 'ow' in "brown"

ei

like 'ay' in "say"

eu

like the 'eu' similar to the Spanish word "Europa"

ee

identical vowels [stress on the first vowel " idee " (ee-DEH-eh)]

ia

like 'ia' similar to the Spanish word "mía"

ie

like 'ie' similar to the Spanish word "miedo"

ii

identical vowels [stress on the first vowel " addii " (ahd-DEE-ee)]

io

like 'io' as in the Spanish word "tío" and similar to the 'eo' in "Leo"

iu

like 'ew' in "few"

oi

like 'oy' in "boy"

oo

identical vowels [stress on the first vowel " zoo " (DZOH-oh)]

uo

like 'wo' in "won't"

Digraphs

ch

like 'k' in "keep"

sc

before "e" or "i", like 'sh' in "sheep"

sch

before 'e' or 'i' like the 'sk' in "sky"

gn

like the 'ny' in "canyon"

gh

like "g" in "get"

zz

like the 'ds' in "toads"

gli

like the 'lee' in "leeks"

Emphasis

Accented words have the emphasis on the syllable with the accented letter. Unaccented words are normally pronounced with the emphasis on the second to last syllable. Double consonants tend to affect how the preceding vowel is pronounced. In "sono" (I am) the "o" is pronounced like the "o" in "close", but in "sonno" (sleep), the "o" is pronounced like the "o" in "dot" and the "n" sound is a bit longer. Similarly, in "sera" (evening) the "e" is pronounced like the "e" in "error" [the long 'e' sound], but in "serra" the "e" is said as a short closed "e" as in "set" and the rolled "r" is a bit more marked.

Phrase list

For this phrasebook, we use the polite form for all phrases, on the presumption that you'll mostly be talking to people you don't already know.